Just wanted to add an update as it has been awhile. My apologies, and hopefully those of you keeping up-to-date via Caring Bridge assumed that no news was good news. It's easy to forget about updating when things are going well. The last couple of months since Mom has been home have gone by pretty fast and she has made so many gains in that time. When she first came home, she still had a lot of recovering to do and needed the assistance of a walker and another adult to move around safely. We kept an eye on her the best we could and made sure someone was always home with her but, much like a young child, we often caught her doing things she shouldn't be doing on her own (walking/doing stairs/etc). :) It was kind of expected though, given her stubbornness. :) 

Now I think it's safe to say she has most, if not all, of her strength back. No more walker and not much assistance from other people is needed! Her other symptoms have also subsided for the most part. She still has some issues with dizziness at times, but it's hard to know if it is residual from everything she went through, or if it could be because of all the medications she is currently taking. She still has quite a bit of fatigue which is frustrating for her, but the doctors have told her that a general rule of thumb is 3 days of recovery for every 1 day spent in the hospital...and with nearly 30 days hospitalized...that would put her at the end of February/beginning of March for recovery. 

Next week will mark her 100th day post transplant, which means a trip to Rochester, where she will have multiple tests and an appointment with her oncologist to determine how well the transplant worked. We are hoping that they will also decide to discontinue some of the many medications she is currently taking. Another thing they will talk about is the next steps for treatment. Currently the standard treatment is maintenance therapy after transplant which entails taking a small dose of chemo to help the cancer stay in remission. Since her last transplant kept her in remission for so long (8 year) without maintenance, Mom is hoping they will let her have a bit of a break from any kind of chemo and just keep a more watchful eye on her blood levels. We will update you when we have more information after her appointments. 

Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers